Emerald Eyes
by Ravenclaw Midnight Blue
Summary: What if MEDUSA hadn't blown up London, and the ending of the first book had consequently turned out a different way…? Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

_**Emerald Eyes**_

Blurb: What if MEDUSA hadn't blown up London, and the ending

of the first book had consequently turned out a different way…?

Themes: Drama, Romance

Principal characters: Tom, Hester

_Disclaimer: the Mortal Engines series and established characters belong to Philip Reeve. Any additional characters and ideas are of my creation! No money is being made from this story._

_My introduction to the Mortal Engines world was via the film. Despite the mixed reviews (and box office failure) that followed, I thought that the film was brilliant, and I can thoroughly recommend it to lovers of science-fiction/fantasy films! Hopefully, someone in the future will make another screen version of the Mortal Engines world. It took 12 years for 'The Golden Compass' film to be reborn as the TV series 'His Dark Materials', so here's hoping…_

_The title of this story comes from an early Fleetwood Mac song that I've just discovered. I thought 'It fits the story that I'm writing – so why not…?'_

**Chapter One:**

**Tom**

A noise awakens me, freezing me from a fitful sleep.

As my foggy senses gradually sharpen, a light above me flickers on before stabilising.

Rubbing my eyes, my troubled main remembers the nightmares that had tormented me in my recent sleep. Flashing images. The explosion of the _13__th__ Floor Elevator_, the debris crashing down upon the lit Top Tier of my home city, and flying outwards – creating an eruption of chaos and flame and smoke in its wake, lighting up the dark night. Great Quirke! I hear once again the screams of those gathering on Top Tier. Only the screams don't echo from my memories through the glass of the _Jenny Haniver's_ cockpit, but from my imagination filling in the gaps. The noise of the explosion and the subsequent impact is all I remember hearing when the airship was struck by my fired missiles.

The scene changes as my groggy mind replays the nightmare. The blackened faces of Pewsey and Gench confront me, flames engulfing them as they simultaneously – and silently – raise their right arms and point at me accusingly. Then other figures emerge from the darkness behind Thaddeus Valentine's men. White-suited engineers. Some Top Tier citizens – men and women – dressed in party clothes for what I guess they thought was going to be a night of celebration as Batmunkh Gompa fell to the conquering superiority of London.

In my nightmare, even a pair of green-eyed, metallic stalkers stand alongside the other, also pointing with their right first fingers at their killer. Me. They don't speak. They don't need to. The message is clear.

_We all died that night because of you, Tom Natsworthy…_

Someone claps loudly, yanking me back to the present moment. My skin jumps. The nightmare disperses – but I soon see that still I'm in no way safe.

"I am glad to see that you are awake, Apprentice!" the sharp voice sneers.

I groan. Magnus Chrome stands before me. Dressed in a fresh set of his scarlet mayor robes, flanked by an armed member of the Guild of Engineers. At the open doorway of my cell is another skull-capped engineer. He's firmly holding onto a squirming teenage girl with copper-coloured hair. Deep knife marks that are now familiar to me have cut across her face, rendered one eye useless…

"Hester!" I cry out, bolting upright.

"Tom!" With a surge of grief, she breaks free from the engineer holding her and she dashes over to me, wrapping her lovely arms around my skinny frame. She presses her forehead to mine.

"Ouch!" I break off and wince at the pain from my bandaged head.

"So-sorry!" Hester's eyes water. "Didn't mean to hurt you!"

"We will give you some time together. Enough for you to say your goodbyes," Chrome declares, capturing our attention. He is grinning. Maliciously.

"What…? What are you going to do to us?" I manage to croak.

"Well now… Thankfully, the plans of you two terrorists have amounted to little, during the night before last. Instead of exploding and wiping out most of the city, MEDUSA has _frazzled_ itself out. Thankfully some of my engineers weren't stupid. They were afraid that the system might go wrong somehow. And so, we had a separate backup electrical system that was protected from MEDUSA."

"I… I can't feel any motion," I mutter. "Are we…?"

"Oh, we are still in London, Natsworthy. We have enough energy for another fortnight or so to keep the city and its people alive – but we're at…a _standstill_…because of you pair and Valentine's brat of a daughter!" Chrome snarled. Then, with an effort, he manages to bring his fury under control. The mocking smile returns. "We still have the capacity to make sure you will both make yourselves useful _citizens_ of London. The Anti-Tractionist League is preparing to attack us, you see, whilst we are a sitting duck – as I believe the Ancients used to say. And that will never do. Oh yes, Miss Shaw told us enough about your new friends whilst she was drugged and interrogated…"

Chrome's cold eyes glint at both Hester and me. "Make the most of your remaining precious time. Then say your goodbyes," he hisses. Then he turns round and leaves with his pair of engineer poodles. The cell door CLANGS shut again, and the duty guard locks it before they all disappear.

*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*

It is some minutes later, after Hester asks me what I remember after I was knocked out, that I begin to catch up.

"Um… Well, before that, you were at the doorway to the _Jenny Haniver_…," I began. "With Mr Valentine and Katherine, and you were urging them to get onboard." My face dropped as I recalled the scene of noise, chaos and panic. The engines of the _Jenny_ whirling whilst it was resting on the edge of the opened dome of St Paul's Cathedral, the screams of the people as they ran headlong on Top Tier - away from the purple-white lightning flashing out from the device that had been hidden underneath the cathedral dome. I remember that there had been an oppressive feeling to the very air, as if of static electricity building up to an alarming level. The feeling that disaster had been about to engulf us all…

And amongst it all, despite it all, I had been just able to hear the wailing of Mr Valentine – and the news that…

"Katherine… She's… She's dead, isn't she?" I sobbed.

Hester carefully pressed her cheek against mine. A stand of her copper-coloured hair tickled my skin. "Yes. I'm afraid so, Tom. I was captured and brought before her father inside St Paul's. He had a sword on him, and he was about to run it through me, when Katherine ran out and tried to shield me. It… It was awful, Tom. I think she must have found out about her father. What he did to you. What he did to my mum and me. I think she must have been trying to stop MEDUSA from being activated - but in the end, after her father's blade took her instead of me, she fell upon the computer keyboard and locked the controls, even as she was dying. Chrome and the engineers panicked. They couldn't stop the power from building up." Hester gives me a grim smile. "The fight was snuffed out of Valentine when he realised what he had done to Katherine." Then her expression turns into sorrow. "Tom… Just before me and the Valentines bolted out of the cathedral…"

"Yes?" I whisper back, all ears.

Hester swallows hard. "Katherine called me…'_sister'_."

I look into Hester's eye and saw the tears forming. "Oh, Great Quirke!" I shudder. "Then he and your mum…!"

"…were more than colleagues. And yet he still killed her for MEDUSA! And now he's killed the half-sister that I never knew I had…"

"I'm so sorry, Hester. For the way it's turned out."

"It's not your fault, Tom." She sniffs through her tears.

"But I caused the _13__th__ Floor Elevator_ to crash upon London! How many innocent people did I kill! How close did I come to killing Katherine in the process!?" I roar, pulling back. My throat bobs as I shake with self disgust. "Why…? Why aren't we all dead, then? Why didn't MEDUSA blow up?"

"Apparently it broke apart under the strain of the power build-up, and the energy was scattered before there could be an explosion," Hester replies. "I've overheard that they can't repair it."

"Well, at least we've saved Batmunkh Gompa for now," I mutter as I reach up and press my hand against the bandage there. "Urr… I don't exactly remember what gave me this."

"A pair of engineers got hold of us, whilst Valentine wept over Katherine," Hester explained. "One of them pinned me down on board – whilst the second one put a pistol to your head and forced you to land the plane, just after the danger had passed. Once you had landed and switched the engine off, you got whacked on the head by his weapon and got knocked out." She paused. "Anyway, back to the present moment. Chrome's right. The people of Batmunkh Gompa will be making another attempt to storm into London… Oh, yes. They've already tried, I understand. But what remains of the London police fired back at them before they could break in."

I wearily shake my head. "Oh, Great Quirke…! And what's Chrome going to do with us? Doesn't Valentine still want you dead?"

"I think Valentine's too broken up by Katherine's death to challenge Chrome's plans for me, Tom. And Chrome wouldn't directly answer, when I asked him the same question about our fates. He only smirked and replied that even though Shrike hadn't returned with me, he was a man of his word. I can only hope that means…"

Hester trails off as footsteps pound along the corridor outside. We looked across to see the cell door being unlocked.

"NO!" Hester whips her face back to me and seized my hands. "I don't want to leave you, Tom. Gods! How you annoyed me when we first met. When you stuck your oar in and stopped me killing Valentine. But even then you actually impressed me as you managed to stay on my trail whilst we raced through the dangers of the Gut! And slowly. Ever since then… Well, I wish that we had more time…"

I smile and hold her hand. "…to do what? What did you have in mind?" I ask, teasing her, somehow finding the will do so do, given the grim situation. "I'm just a blunderer…"

"Don't talk yourself down, Tom Natsworthy! You. Are. Amazing," Hester growls, puncturing each word with emphasis. "As for having more time together… Well, I had this in mind, for starters." And carefully grabbing hold of my head where it wouldn't hurt, she pulls me in so that our lips meet in a passionate kiss.

_Umm! Just as well that there's no cameras in this place…_, the thought crosses my mind – before I push it aside.

As the precious seconds slip by, our hands begin to roam as if of their own accord. Her hungry, thrusting tongue pushes my lips apart and touches my own tongue – and in my shock I briefly wonder how she learnt to kiss like that. Then I thought that if this was going to be the last time we would ever be together, I wanted to commit everything to memory – the sight and feel of Hester's beautiful, coppery hair, her appraising eye, her smooth skin, her warmth. Everything. I held her tighter and close to me. Not wanting to let go. Ever.

I feel my blood pounding with an excitement that I've never known before. We both break lip-contact to draw in breath as we gasp for air, then our mouths collide again. The room suddenly lurches, and we crash down with a yell from Hester and an _"Ouch!"_ from me. Somehow, in our enthusiastic snogging we've fallen from the cell bed and landed on the floor. Momentarily shaking my head, I return my attention to the belt of Hester's trousers, even as her hand is unbuttoning my shirt…

"Enough!" Chrome barks as he re-enters the cell, spoiling the mood. Seconds later, his engineers have separated us. Between the two of them, Hester is prised off me and carried out of the cell, screaming her defiance and crying out my name. Chrome leaves with the rest of them.

"Hester! I…I love you!"

I try to get up and grab her outstretched hand, but the Lord Mayor pushes me back against the windowless end wall, where I strike the back of my bandaged head. Groaning, I slumped upon the floor – hearing Hester's frenzied screams as she is carried away out of sight. Eventually, I can hear her no longer.

I am not left along for long, though. Minutes later, the guard on duty unlocks my cell again, this time admitting a bespectacled man who has a neatly-trimmed ginger beard, but has a large bald patch on top. He's wearing a lab coat. The red wheel tattoo between his eyebrows confirms my suspicion. He's another blasted engineer.

Once he's in the cell with me he waves the guard away. "Lock the door and leave us alone. I want to hear about our guest's experiences with Shrike," he gives by way of an explanation.

The guard pauses. "Very well, sir. If you are sure…"

"I am. I will call for you when I'm done here," the ginger-haired man declares.

When the guard has gone, my new visitor unexpectedly helps me up. He even exams my head, then lets go, nodding.

"You'll live. Now sit down, Natsworthy. And tell me your story. All of it."

"Um… Who are you?" I reply.

"Sorry. I'm one of Doctor Twix's assistants - Doctor Mars." His voice drops to a loud whisper and he speaks with a spark of suppressed emotion. "My married sister was once… She was once in line to become Lady Mayoress of London at one stage."

"Oh. Um. Really?"

"…before she and her husband died when their airship exploded, due to…an accident. Then Magnus Chrome took over."

I blinked, wonder why this stranger was being candid with me. Then I stared at his face and read his expression. "Oh… You believe that it…wasn't an accident, sir?"

Doctor Mars gives no reply, apart from a barely-perceptible nod. He sits on the bed next to me, his face impassive. Stony.

"Where is Hester being taken? What is Chrome intending to do to us!? We're not terrorists! We were only trying to stop Chrome from committing a massacre…!"

He holds up a hand to halt the onrush of words pouring out of my mouth.

"Tell me everything."

"About Shrike?"

"No. About your journey with Hester Shaw. From the moment you got out of London, to the point when you returned here. Tell me the truth, mind. I'm trained to detect easy lies. Then I'll see what I can do for you in return, Tom," he tells me.

I take a deep breath. _Gods… Why not?_ I think. I wasn't sure there was anything left for me to lose. With Hester torn away from me, I was now at Out-Country rock bottom. Just not so literally this time.

So I told him my story. How I saved Thaddeus Valentine from Hester's assassination attempt. Right up to Katherine's tragic death.

When I had finished, Doctor Mars stroked his beard. His grey eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You actually killed Shrike with a sword?"

I shrugged. "He was totally focused on talking to Hester, and I took him by surprise. He had already been damaged, I think. I guess I was lucky. It was…what the Ancients call a 'long shot'. A slim chance that worked out." I pause. "Doctor… What's going to happen to me and Het…?"

"It will be impossible for you to escape." Mars appraises me with a steely gaze, and then takes a deep breath. "But there's a chance that you may yet have a little control over your own fate, for once."

"I would like that," I say, sighing. "Wait! You believe me about what Mr Valentine did to me and Hester's mum?"

"Oh yes. I've seen no indication from your body language that you are blatantly lying. Now listen! Like you, I have collected old tech – as well as old records. From the Ancients, no less. We learnt the secret of Shrike's construction. My weeks of research experimentation have paid off in aiding Doctor Twix – but she is only aware of half of what I now know. I have, just yesterday, perfected my work on two new case subjects. I have managed to do what the Ancients did! And, under Chrome's orders, I must soon continue my work on the next case." He smiles. "I am just here on my lunch break."

"Case subjects…? What the Ancients did…? Oh, Great Quirke…," I breathe as a dawning light slowly grows within me.

"You begin to understand, Tom. Good. Here is the deal. You can assist me in my work and hope to see Hester again. Or you will have to die and be burnt to a cinder, so that Chrome will no longer have any control over you. Your choice."

I hold my hands against my face as I begin to weep again. A chill had flooded through me, and I shuddered.

"I must return to my station soon, Tom. I must have your answer now!" Doctor Mars presses me.

"Al-alright…! Just make sure…that I don't regret this."

"It will not be without pain. That cannot be avoided. But it's for the best." Mars pats my shoulder, and then stands up. "Guard!" he yells out.

The duty guard soon appears and unlocks the cell door. "Sir?"

"Handcuff this prisoner to yourself," Doctor Mars instructs him. "Mr Natsworthy is going to aid me in my laboratory."

The guard gives me a knowing, gloating expression. He must think how week and frightened I look, I realise.

"Very good, sir!" the guard laughs as he pulls out his handcuffs and snaps one cuff around my thin wrist, with a _'snap'_ of finality. We then leave.

I never see the cell again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

**MS1**

_Two weeks later…_

Shots ring out in the atrium from the surviving invaders, cutting down the last of the Beefeater guards. Silence falls for an instant as the gun smoke clears. The fighters of Shan Guo smile with relish as they see Magnus Chrome's mouth opening and closing like a fish in his moment of barely-suppressed rage. But their grins vanish as Doctor Twix screams out an order to my brethren.

"D9! D11! MS2! Kill the invaders! MS1 – shield us from further harm."

I nod acknowledgement of the order directed at me. The bespectacled female doctor is limping as a result of the bullet that managed to clip her thigh, and she leans on the Lord Mayor for support as they hurry as fast as possible in their retreat towards the nearby lift. Naturally, they are slow – and I walk backwards in time with them. With my right index finger, I activate a button that's implanted into my left forearm – and a small metallic shield opens out in layers, allowing me to deflect some of the bullets that come our way. A few low shots strike my legs instead. If the marksmen and markswomen were hoping to knock me off-balance, they will be disappointed. My stainless steel legs are undamaged by the multiple impacts.

Then the screams resume again – this time from our enemies. D9 and D11 advance, casting their baleful green-eyed gazes upon the invaders. The claws of D9 and D11 extend from their fingers and both of them begin to slash at the retreating crowd. In the meantime the newer model that is MS2 – the next to be created after me – opens its jaw, roars, and charges at the fighters, extending longer claws as it does so.

Chrome repeatedly slams the lift button with his sweat-drenched hand, and it eventually opens up. He carries the white lab coat-suited Twix and leans her against the rail inside. Next, the Lord Mayor turns to regard the scene of combat visible through the atrium. His leer of triumph is instantaneously wiped from his face. I take in his expression with my visual sensors. A flicker of something ignites within me – something forgotten. And so I turn to reassess the battle, my brain circuits clicking and whirling as I process the new developments.

The thought comes to me that I am experiencing…anticipation. Dawning hope…

MS2 has cut down any of the once-born who have been too slow, or stupid, to flee from him in time. _Him?_ I pause, not knowing where the thought comes from. Yet I am aware that this is not the first time I have thought this way. Something that emanates from the parts of my mind that are still organic is telling me that MS2 is – _was_ – male. More than that, _he_ meant something to me…

Before I can grasp it, the dim memory disperses like the gun smoke that has spread across the atrium.

MS2 is now standing alone, surrounded by the wrecked plastic tables and chairs of an eating area, now drenched in the blood of those he has just slain. By contrast, the earlier Stalker models of D9 and D11 are now being comforted by another Stalker, who has just emerged from another corridor. Upon seeing this latest cyborg, the invaders stop and drew in their breaths…

"MS4! Kill them! Kill the Shan Guo scum!" Chrome shrieks at the Magna Stalker – the fourth of my particular model.

MS4 pauses. Then the metallic lips beneath the blue death mask twist into a smile. Raising its arms, the rifle that is built into the right arm is revealed from underneath the black robes that are now dropping to the floor, discarded by the figure. The left gauntlet is holding the front hand guard steady as MS4 takes aims and fires.

The first blast strikes the neck of D9.

Despite the distance between them, it is an accurate shot, my processing circuits calculate. It is…impressive.

The latter Stalker gives a cry of pain and fury as sparks fly out. Then, striding over towards the nearest fallen body of the organics that it has killed, D9 snatches a hand gun and starts firing back. MS4 calmly, but quickly, walks behind the café kiosk to take cover. Occasionally, it peers round and fires back with its built-in rifle mechanism, hitting D9 more times than it misses. In the meantime, the men and women fighters of Shan Guo cheer on MS4 – but otherwise steer clear of D9, D11 and MS2.

"MS4 has gone rogue! What in Quirke's name has happened!?" Chrome screams at Doctor Twix as they both gape at the furious scene.

"I-I don't know! Lord Mayor! And… MS3 has gone missing during the battle t-too," the scientist gibbers. "Th-they are my babies…!"

"You stupid woman! I would fire you, if I could… We-we need to get out of here – now!" Chrome yells back. Then he whips his sweaty round face towards me. "MS1! Get into the lift and protect us. You too, D11!"

"_I OBEY, LORD MAYOR CHROME,"_ my voice grates. Leaving my mini-shield activated, I turn and stride over to the lift. D11 silently leaves the battle and joins me there. Now the only Stalkers left in the atrium are D9, MS2 and MS4. And whilst the other Twice-borns are shooting at each other and using cover to defend themselves, MS2 is purposefully pounding his way over towards the café kiosk, to attack MS4 from the other side…

It is then that the ginger-bearded man with glasses emerges from the kiosk, and aims a hand-held device towards the intimidating, six-foot tall figure of MS2. A metallic whine is being emitted from the device – and it stops MS2 in mid-step, before he eventually places his foot down. His glowing eyes briefly flicker to white, before resuming their usual emerald-green gaze. The device is then pointed at me, as the human sprints over towards the closing doors of the lift.

"Doctor Mars!" Twix screams in horror. "No! Keep away from us, you tra-!"

In the next instant the glass doors have sealed themselves shut. The wheel of the lift rises, and all four of us are carried upward towards the Top Tier of London.

Inside of me, electricity flashes and pulses throughout my cables and buzzing circuits. The frequency emitted by Doctor Mars's device has awakened something within me…

I was correct in thinking that MS2 was – _is_ – male. And I began to remember more – much more, as images flash within my augmented Stalker-brain.

I shield my eyes and lower my head towards the floor in anticipation of the next stage. Just in time, the green glow of my eyes turn – just for a moment – to white. Then the tiny white glow on the floor changes back to green, and I raise my gaze back to the glass of the elevator, as I see the daylight of the open air replacing the interior of the battle-struck atrium. Given the brightness, there is only a poor reflection of the four of us in the lift – but I am still able to see the still, silent metal figure of D11 – its glowing eyes matching my own once more, behind its clear face shield. Both of us possess the numerous, slim, toughened glass ducts and cords that are common to all of us Twice-Borns. Tubes that feed electricity between the backs of our heads and torsos, giving us energy. Giving us life. But whereas D11 is a head taller than me, and dressed in combat uniform, my metallic frame is sleeker, underneath the sleeveless black long coat that is my only clothing. I have the mini-shield on my left forearm, which is a first for my kind. I also know, from my experiences in the testing lab that my claws reflexes are faster. The claws themselves are sharper. My…new father…told me so himself. That is why he called me…

The lift stops and the doors open wide. Immediately, we can all feel the gust of wind that is blowing from the nearby mountains across Tier One. The humans are still bickering – and I realise with…relief…that they have failed to see the sign that I have truly begun to awaken, to remember.

I am dimly aware that the back-up programming that is now operational within me cannot fully override the emotional-suppression system. I consider that to be…good. To have all of my emotions returned to me now with the memories would be to risk going insane at the very moment when I must act with clarity and careful timing. To fulfill my purpose…

Two once-born are awaiting us, guarded by a pair of Beefeaters, as our party of four emerges from the wheel-lift. One of them is a chubby, burly-looking young human, his navy blue Guild of Historians uniform and black robes now looking shabby, no doubt due to the siege of the past few days. The muscles on his face twitch. He is intimidated by the presence of D11 and myself.

More images flash into my mind. I remember him, in the Guild, glumly mopping the floor. He must have been the one to tell…

My right fist clenches as if with a mind of its own. A name arises from the depths of my augmented brain. _Melliphant…_

The second guarded once-born is a tall man with silver-flecked black hair. His beard, once just black, is now sporting silver hairs in places too. I remember what has aged him. But it is his own greed, his own arrogance, which is the root cause.

His lip trembles as he stares through the clear visor that covers my own death mask – but he is unable to bring himself to speak to me. Instead he nods, and then turns to Chrome and Twix. Their expressions make him pause.

"What is it!? You pair look awful. The battle…?"

"…is going against us, Valentine!" Chrome snaps. "The newer models are going rogue!"

"It's Doctor Mars's fault!" Twix sobs. "He d-did the finer pr-programming on them himself. MS4 has gone rogue down in the atrium! And he's now made MS2 turn upon D9. As w-we were going up in the lift, I saw MS2 tackle D9 and tear its circuits apart! It's awful! My babies – fighting each other like that…"

The human named Thaddeus Valentine turns deathly pale. He glances at me.

"Oh! MS1 is still loyal to us," gushes Doctor Twix. "Aren't you, child?"

"_MY PLACE IS WITH YOU,"_ I answer.

"And…MS3?" Valentine's throat visibly bobs.

"It has gone missing!" Chrome snarls. "Now, enough talk! We must board one of the airships and get away from here, before the peasants of Shan Guo reach us!"

"Get away…? _Where_ do you suggest that we go, Lord Mayor?" Valentine bristles.

"Back west! To one of the predator cities, I suppose!" Chrome nervously wipes at the sweat on his bald head with his handkerchief. "We can apply for asylum there. Better to stay with the Tractionists, than stay here and fall into the hands of those we had attacked!"

"But… But the citizens of London… Those who are still alive…!" the young human protests.

"…will have to look out for themselves!" Chrome snaps back.

"Sir…? Can't you even…make a call to evacuate?"

"NO! There's no time, Melliphant!" In his anger, the Lord Mayor grabs the collar of the shrill, annoying once-born – then pushes him to one side, sending him staggering backwards, and Melliphant falls onto the nearest border of the gardens, flattening the roses and staining his trousers on the soil in the process.

Chrome jerks his bald head and addresses the Beefeaters, as he pulls out a key on a chain that had been hanging around his neck.

"Fire up my airship! We are leaving. Here is my personal key!"

"Yessir!" One of the Beefeaters stomps his feet together. Taking the chain key, the pair of guards hurry across to the red, white, and blue airship that is moored on a pier not far from Clio House. Then, recovering his frayed nerves, Chrome walks briskly along the path that the Beefeaters have taken, not even pausing to look behind him. Valentine gets Twix to lean on him as they follow – and following the Doctor's commands, both D11 and I scan around the garden and nearby Tier One buildings for signs of danger with our green-eyed gazes and sensors. Meaning, cursing at the mud on his clothes, Melliphant gives up brushing his trousers and jacket and hurries up to catch up with our party.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" he yells.

As we advance towards the airship, I see the two Beefeaters open up the Lord Mayor's airship. Then my optic sensors detect a slight distortion of the air at the back of the airship, on the landing pad. The distortion then moves and follows the Beefeaters inside. My newly-activated programming enables me to identify what is happening…

I glance back at D11. The silent stalker has failed to register what I have. Instead, it has turned round to face the wheel lift. Someone has pressed the 'call' button at a lower level. Probably from the atrium.

"No!" Valentine spins round at the sudden noise. "D11 – destroy the lift controls. Quickly!"

D11 nods. I have never known this model to speak. Which makes what needs to happen easier…

D11's pounding strides close the distance. Flexing its hands, its claws extend – and then they are used to smash through the control panel. Within seconds, the stalker reaches into the exposed circuits and tears into them. With a 'bang' and a splutter of angry sparks, the lift halts. Never to move again.

And then Magnus Chrome screams out in horror and fury.

We all immediately spin back to towards the airship. The Lord Mayor had just entered it – but now he bolts out of it, tripping over himself and stumbling onto the walkway. He gibbers and tries to get back up – only to step onto his own cloak and fall back down again.

"Stalkers, aid me! The Beefeaters… Th-they're dead! Stabbed! N-no!"

Chrome cry turns into a hoarse croak as the slight distortion of air emerges from the door to the airship cabin. Then it ripples and fades away, to reveal the previously-cloaked figure of a stalker that bears a crimson-coloured death mask. This one wears no long coat – and instead presents itself as a tall, thin, slender metallic figure. For a moment the eyes are unlit. But now with its shrouding device deactivated, the emerald glow of my kind is replicated from its eyes.

"MS3! You h-have gone rogue…! De-deactivate yourself!" Chrome yells out, as he tries to crawl backwards away from the Magna Stalker that is now slowly advancing towards him. The being that has killed his loyal Beefeaters.

"_YOU HAVE…NO CONTROL OVER ME, ANYMORE, CHROME,"_ MS3 rasps.

"MS1! D11! I order you to destroy…_her_!" Chrome screams in rage.

As Valentine, Twix, and Melliphant all freeze in their moment of shock, I move forward to comply with the direct order. D11 follows in my wake. But as we pass the route to Paternoster Square, a cracking 'boom' rips through the air – and D11's breastplate is struck, causing the Twice-Born to spin round on the spot from the impact. It staggers, and then steadies itself – just as two pairs of green orbs emerge from the cover of the buildings. MS4 reloads its arm rifle – whilst MS2 charges out and intercepts the damaged D11 before it can attack MS3. A savage claw fight breaks out between them. But as soon as a wailing Doctor Twix orders me to intervene, the scientist called Doctor Mars steps out from behind MS4.

"_Traitor!" _Twix yells in her shrill voice. "MS1 – kill him!"

"No!" Doctor Mars retorts back. "MS1, acknowledge Protocol code. _Rake, Rake, Rake!"_

My augmented brain processes the spoken command, which I have been pre-programmed to obey. The remainder of my suppressed memory banks are suddenly unlocked. I stop, poised in mid-stride for a moment, now finding myself next to the furious, metallic hand-to-hand fight between D11 and MS2. Valentine has now discarded Twix and has drawn his sword from its sheath, in order to slay the preoccupied MS2. Despite having circuits exposed and damaged by vicious claw-swipes, D11 has locked metallic hands with MS2. They are both straining to overcome the other…

"_PROTOCOL CODE ACKNOWLEDGED. I AM MAGNA STALKER RAKE,"_ I intone. And then I promptly demonstrate why Doctor Mars gifted me with that designation as I flex my wrist and extend stainless steel claws from my right hand before slashing them across the shoulder of Thaddeus Valentine. He screams, drops his sword, and falls to his knees. One hand is now pressed firmly over his wound to stem the flow of human blood.

I spin around swiftly to turn my attention to D11, and deactivate my wrist shield. As it folds away, I reach out with both hands, grab hold, and then pull with all of my Stalker strength. The first pair of tubes shatter from my efforts – and immediately D11 spasms, giving a ghastly, gurgling cry.

MS2 and I hesitate for only a moment. Then our clawed hands tear at the glass tubes and the cords connected to them, breaking them with our unrelenting grips and tugs. More sparks erupt. The electricity released from D11's hulking frame crackles and then goes out. MS2 releases his opponent and steps back.

D11 is still for a moment. Then it falls backwards - striking the concrete path with a deafening 'CLANG'. It twitches once, before becoming still. The green glow of its eyes fades away.

Doctor Twix gives another wailing scream and buries her face behind her hand as she sits on the edge of the path.

"THANK YOU…," MS2 booms at me.

I nod, and then ask, _"BOTH OF YOU ASCENDED CAT'S CREEP? WHILST THE HUMANS ACTIVATED THE LIFT AS A DIVERSION?"_

MS2 nods back. "MS3 WAS ALREADY IN POSITION. MS4 AND I MOVED QUICKLY, TO GET HERE IN TIME. TO STOP CHROME. AND TO REACH YOU." He slowly reaches out a metallic hand towards me. In turn, I hold out mine. Our metallic fingers briefly entwine, before letting go.

He remembers me. That is good. I remember him. Remember what was developing between us, before we both…died.

Valentine is ashen as I turn back to him. He looks up at me with haunted, anguished eyes.

"No…!" he croaks. "Don't kill me. I'm your father, Kate…!"

"_KATE…"_ The word vibrates from my vocal transmitter as my metal lips twitch. _"YES. I WAS ONCE KATHERINE VALENTINE. BUT YOU KILLED ME. WITH THAT SWORD AT YOUR FEET."_ I pick up the weapon with a dim sensation of hatred - and, raising it high, send the blade spinning through the air towards the edge of Tier One. It lands close to the edge. I have miscalculated the throw…

Hector Melliphant's face turns a sickly shade of green. He remembers who I was. When I was a once-born. When I was filled with anxiety and questions and despair.

"I didn't mean to k-kill you!" Thaddeus Valentine stutters.

"_YOU WERE GOING TO SLAY MY HALF-SISTER. INSTEAD, I DIED. NOW I AM AN IRON WOMAN. I AM MAGNA STALKER RAKE. MS1. THE FIRST OF MY NEW BRETHREN,"_ I declare with what pride my emotional suppressor unit allows. I turn and gesture with my claw-hand towards the watching MS2 and MS4. _"I NOW HAVE…BROTHERS. AND FROM THIS MOMENT ON, MS3 IS TRULY…MY SISTER."_

"Kate…" The once-born who I had disowned as the last relative I had left is weeping. "…I asked for Twix to resurrect you! I wasn't ready to say goodbye to your corpse…"

"_YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FATHER."_ My claw hand gestures to Doctor Mars, as he and MS4 join our gathering at the crossroads on Tier One. _"HE IS. DOCTOR MARS HAS GIVEN ME NEW LIFE. I AM NOW STRONGER. I AM NO LONGER AFRAID OF MAGNUS CHROME OR HIS FOLLOWERS."_

"You…gave them…names?" Twix gasps as MS2, upon Doctor Mars's order, yanks her to join our gathering. In the meantime, the wailing Chrome is roughly dragged along the path by MS3. Soon the nine of us stand at the crossroads within the gardens. Doctor Mars turns to answer Twix's question. He points to me and my kin in turn, in order of our...rebirth.

"When I gave Kate Valentine her claws, I decided that 'Rake' was a suitable new name for her. Bevis Pod has turned out to be especially good at tearing things apart, so I think of him as 'Beast'. Hester Shaw, the would-be-assassin of Mr Valentine here, is now the bearer of an experimental cloaking device. Therefore, she is now 'Shroud'. As for Tom Natsworthy…" He turns to face MS4. "Thanks to a conversation I had with him before he agreed to be converted, I had the idea to truly make him a 'Longshot'."

My previous father turns red with fury, as he addresses MS2 – Bevis.

"As I understand it, Tom here shot down my airship. The debris of that killed you! Tom is responsible for your death, Bevis Pod!"

MS2 glances at MS4, and then returns his focus to the human.

"THAT NO LONGER MATTERS. I AM…BETTER OFF…BEING A STALKER. I AM MORE EFFICIENT IN THIS FORM. I AM NOW KATE'S EQUAL. TOM AND HESTER ARE MY FAMILY, TOO, FROM THIS DAY ON."

Valentine looks shocked at Bevis's reply.

Chrome tries to spit his disgust at the doctor, but misses. "So, you have us at your mercy, Doctor Mars! Now what happens!?"

"The brave people of Batmunkh Gompa will be spreading through the whole of London, now that the last of Twik's 'D class' stalkers have fallen, thanks to my…interventions," Mars replies, smiling with satisfaction. "It won't be very long before they even reach us on Top Tier. So…are you prepared to turn yourself in to them as their prisoner, Chrome? I've made first contact with them myself, via an old radio transmitter that I got working – and I only agreed to become their spy in the past fortnight, _after_ Valentine blew up their northern air fleet. Even so, I don't think they will be willing to show you much mercy. And I shouldn't forget to mention…"

"Why…?" Chrome hisses.

"Yes, indeed. Why did I turn against you? Because you were responsible for the death of my sister and her husband! Your mistake was to fail to check for any relatives via Stella's maiden surname."

Chrome's eyes narrow in anger.

"She got in my way to the top, Mars! She wouldn't step aside when I bribed her to do so. Your sister would've ended the days of London being a predator city! She would've made us all weak! Prey without moving wheels to be conquered by another regime, and subjected to Quirke knows wh-"

A burst of sudden gunfire takes us by surprise, kicking up parts of the concrete path. The humans duck for cover behind me and my kind. Turning, I magnify my optics for an instant and see that someone is moving within the airship, stiffly operating a gun turret. It seems that Shroud did not quite kill one of the Beefeaters…

"I WILL DEAL WITH THIS ONE," MS4 – Tom – intones, and he activates his jetpack. Taking into the air, my brother uses the buttons on his utility belt to arc through the air, even as he moves in closer. The gunner's eyes widen in surprise and panic as he struggles to move the airship gun quickly enough. He fires again, but his shots are a second or two too slow to hit MS4.

Tom comes to rest on the concrete of the landing pad, his gauntlet hands pressing down to support his weight. Then he calmly straightens up, and strides to the airship in order to tear apart the locked door before him…

In the meantime, I see the other problem. Whilst MS2 and MS3 have shielded Doctor Mars and our prisoners, Hector Melliphant has used the diversion to scarper. Despite his fat frame, he is running straight for the sword I had thrown away.

"Somebody – stop him!" my new father cries out.

"_ALLOW ME…,"_ I rasp. Then I am running after the youngster, my metallic frame and boots pounding as the electricity within me crackles with greater intensity – as if it was my new heart's blood. Which it is.

I intercept him on the edge of Top Tier. Melliphant gasps from his sprint, and struggles to lift the sword with both of his pudgy, sweaty hands. As my shadow falls upon him from behind, he spins round – terror etched on his once-smarmy face.

"Miss Valentine! NO! Don't harm me…!"

"_BECAUSE OF YOU…DOG IS DEAD!"_ I roar, remembering the pet wolf I had…loved? Yes. Loved.

My emotional suppressor unit falters for a moment. Just enough for me to fear the sword that Melliphant is swinging towards my neck.

Great Clio, I will not let that dammed sword take me again…

I quickly activate my mini-shield and raise my left forearm to block the incoming blow. There is a flurry of sparks. Then I slam my right fist into his clenched hands, forcing the eavesdropper and traitor to drop his weapon. As he reels back from my following punch to his forehead, I grab hold of father's sword in both of my metallic hands, turn it round, and then thrust it forwards.

Melliphant's eyes bulge wide as the tip emerges from below the back of his ribs. I have run him through.

He begins to cough blood, choking as his arms whirl in the air as he fights to keep his balance on the edge of Top Tier, even as he staggers back. My expression is impassive as I take a few steps forward – and then pull back my clenched fist and ram it into his forehead.

"Urr! Agh-_aaaggghhh…!_" Hector Melliphant grunts – then screams, as the force of my attack punches him straight through the metal barricade. With father's sword still imbedded in him, he falls down the side of London. My optics zoom in on his descending, broken figure, as he finally slams into the desolate ground of the Out-Country, abruptly ending his dying cry.

I feel a moment of profound satisfaction sweep through me. Justice has been done. I turn and see that MS4 has joined me, the fresh blood of the resisting Beefeater staining his gauntlet. Tom sees the body of the self-serving, obnoxious bully who he had managed to tell me of, during our brief, first meeting. A bully he had to suffer. He inclines his head, and then speaks to me.

"THANK YOU…, SISTER," says Tom.

I nod back. Then we, as one, stride back to rejoin the others. From there, we take our remaining prisoners back down Cat's Creep towards London Museum, where Chudleigh Pomeroy, Clytie Potts, Moira Plym, and Doctor Nancarrow – all now released from their prison cells during the fighting – raise their weapons against us, as they encounter us on the stairs, on their way up to stop Chrome and Valentine. Fortunately, it doesn't take long for Doctor Mars to convince them that the MS Stalkers are their allies, not enemies. But when they learn of the true identities of MS4, MS2 and myself, it is a struggle for them to accept it. Especially for Pomeroy as he weeps whilst first Tom – then I – hold him in a stiff embrace, trying without words to convey to the historians, that as Stalkers we are not suffering or in pain. That we are…fine.

Meanwhile, my human father avoids looking at the historians. Avoids facing the anger that is directed against him. Eventually, we move on – to be met just outside the museum by the ecstatic Anti-Tractionist League fighters, who take custody of Chrome, Valentine, and Twix. It soon becomes evident that the battle is over. The League has conquered London, thanks in part to the intervention of Doctor Mars and his covert programming of us MS Stalkers. For a while I wonder what will become of us four, now that the fighting is over – but I later learn that we will act either as escort guards for Governor Khan, or as workers in all manner of different roles.

As the humans cheer and celebrate throughout the heart of the fallen city, I feel a metallic hand gently rest upon my shoulder. I turn to see it is Bevis's. He stands silently besides me. With our emotional suppression units, we Stalkers cannot love. Physically, we are more machine than human. Deep inside… I am not which part of us is greater. But I realise that Bevis too remembers – like I do – everything that happened between us. How we were beginning to deeply care for each other.

"WE DID NOT DIE IN VAIN…, KATE," Bevis rasps.

"_NO, BEVIS…,"_ I reply, taking the hand of my Iron Man in return and squeezing it, appreciating the contact as I look unblinkingly into his lit emerald eyes that matched mine. _"AND NOW WE LIVE AGAIN, TO BEAR WITNESS TO VICTORY. _OUR_ VICTORY…"_

The Battle of London was over. But we would still have function and purpose. Bevis and I still had each other – as did Hester and Tom. And each of us now had the potential to live for centuries, to outlast Doctor Mars and all of the other once-born currently around us.

In our own strange new ways, all four of us were…now content.

For me, that is better than being dead. Better than being lost in the Sunless Country. I seem to have a dim memory of…something…after I had died. A woman calling out my name as I was ripped away from her, in a strange place… Not long before I awoke for the first time as a Magna Stalker. A woman who I sensed I had once called…mother.

Eventually I will succumb to death and enter the Sunless Country again. Maybe Dog will still be waiting for me, along with the mother I barely knew. Maybe not.

But for now, we survive. And we serve and we protect the humans of our new home – Batmunkh Gompa.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

**Hester**

It's now a fortnight after the Battle of London.

The citizens of Tom's former city are still getting used to living amongst the existing inhabitants of Batmunkh Gompa. The League – aided by myself and my kin – had escorted the shocked humans out of London to their new, static township. There were only a few dissenters left – and so they were kept inside the small prison within the city. The only important ones were Magnus Chrome, Thaddeus Valentine and the woman called Doctor Twix. Twix – who thought she had full control over me, my sister, and my brothers.

In the days following the Battle of London, Governor Khan ordered a trial for the three prisoners we had captured. It lasted several days. All four of my new kind was called to testify, so that we could relay our memories to the jury and public audience. That's how they learned of Valentine's murder of my mother, how I had been raised afterwards by Shrike, how Tom had prevented me from killing Valentine – only for the boy to foolishly follow my parting advice to him by mentioning my name, and so get pushed into the waste chute simply for knowing too much.

Then Bevis Pod and Katherine Valentine took up the story in turn. Bevis stating how he had seen Valentine push Tom into the waste chute. Katherine calmly relaying the details of her investigation, and how she had teamed up with Bevis and the Guild of Historians. How they discovered what Chrome and the Guild of Engineers were up to. About MEDUSA.

Throughout all of this, I observed Valentine in the dock – broken and defeated. Unable to look at the beautiful, deadly Stalker that his daughter now was. I saw him flinch whenever he looked at me. That was only to be expected – I stood before him, stronger and more dangerous than I had been when I nearly claimed his life at the Incomers' Station within London.

All three of the most-prized prisoners were charged with conspiracy to destroy Batmunkh Gompa and ravage Shan Guo. Valentine, already charged with the killing of Anna Fang – now had the added charges of killing my mother and the man I had thought to be my father, as well as the attempted killing of Tom.

Valentine not only confessed to all of the charges, he poured out everything of the Lord Mayor's and the Engineer's mad schemes for control of the earth itself. Chrome was lived with the betrayal.

At the end of it all, Magnus Chrome was found guilty and sentenced to a firing squad led by Captain Khora. Alongside the Governor, who we now guarded, Tom, Kate, Bevis and I acted as witnesses to Chrome's last moments of furious ranting, before he was bound to a wooden post. No blindfold and no gag. His body twitched as the bullets struck him – and then he ranted and moved no move.

Good.

And then it was Thaddeus Valentine's turn to die – for he too had been sentenced to death. Only he would not die by gunfire. His assassins of choice – me and Tom – would end his shattered life.

"I tried to kill both of them. And Hester Shaw has wanted to kill me for years. So let her. I don't care anymore," Valentine had told the judge. "Kate needs to be present too. She needs to bear witness."

When the moment came and Valentine was tied to his post, both Tom and I flexed our wrists and our built-in arm daggers 'clicked' from underneath our forearms into their extended positions where our metal hands could grasp them. Upon Khora giving us the order, Tom locked his lit green eyes upon mine.

"LADIES…FIRST." He gave his best attempt at a smile with his metallic lips.

If I could have laughed, perhaps I would have. I remembered the human expression, but I lacked the capacity to demonstrate it. Was I even a lady anymore? I was – am – a Magna Stalker. My designated number being MS3. I…like…the code name Doctor Mars has given me. Shroud. My cloaking device has proved to be most useful during the liberation of London.

Nevertheless, I appreciated Tom's kindness. I strode over to Valentine. He raised his bowed head so that his eyes stared back at me. His facial muscles twitched with fear.

"Do it, Hester! I am…sorry for what I did to your mother, to you, and to Tom. I am not worthy of being remembered as your father! But what I did to Pandora Shaw… It seemed so necessary at the time. I had to have MEDUSA! But now, years later… I have paid the price. It is time…for me to apologise to your mother, in person. In death. Just…end my pain, Hester!"

I nodded. I had once thought that no one truly returned from the Sunless Country. That Stalkers hadn't really lived before as humans. Now I know that I had been wrong. I had awoken from death in a chamber filled with fluid, with clamps supporting my upright naked body as the process of metallic conversation moved on from the initial stages. The initial jolt of painful electricity from my new circuits as they were switched on taught me that I was very much alive…

"_GIVE MY MOTHER…MY…REGARDS,"_ I croaked. Then I rammed my blade into Valentine's heart and held it there for a moment – before yanking it back out. Stepping back, I saw Tom repeat the motion.

Thaddeus Valentine's body jerked. There was no scream – only a hoarse gasp of agony. Then he was gone. His body slumped forward, still tied to the wooden post. Katherine watched the scene without comment. Her only reaction was a slow nod of…acceptance. Then she followed Governor Khan as he turned and left – as did Bevis, Tom and I.

Doctor Twix was found later guilty of lesser charges than Chrome and Valentine had. At a suggestion from Doctor Mars at the trial, approved by myself, Tom, Katherine and Bevis, Twix was sentenced to be killed and resurrected as a Stalker herself.

"WIPE HER MEMORY, SO THAT SHE CAN NEVER TURN AGAINST ANY OF US," Bevis had insisted. "SHE MUST BE CONTENT TO SERVE THIS CITY."

Twix wailed with terror as she was taken out of the dock and dragged back to her cell. Before long, Doctor Mars used the still-working conversation chamber within London's K Division (where I had been reborn) to get to work on her freshly-deceased body – and the city was gifted another Stalker. Designation D14. Her iron body was fitted without weapons. She was not destined to be a fighter or as a guard, but as a maintenance worker. I know that Bevis appreciates the irony of Twix becoming one of her own 'babies'. She now knows what it is like to be a Stalker. The latest I have heard about her, D14 was proving herself to be a valuable asset in cleaning out the sewage works of the city and keeping them in good working order.

The Governor says he still sees the original Tom and Hester in us. In response to this, Doctor Mars has told us four…creations of his…that he is proud of us. That we have maintained a semblance of humanity, thanks to our memories and his careful programming of us.

Governor Ermene Khan is a kind master. He allows Bevis, Katherine, Tom and me to have a rota system with our duties as workers and guards. Katherine and Bevis always take their 'rest time' together - as do Tom and I. We even have rooms allocated to us, where we can be charged and spend time by ourselves. Tom has become to make models of planes similar to the _Jenny Haniver_. As for the actual plan, Sathya has claimed it back for the city's new air fleet. Even as they start to build more planes.

Eventually, she will trust Tom and me enough to assist in that process.

Today, Tom joins me as we walk over to a high wall outside of the Governor's residence and look down at the city. The bright, midday light floods the countless levels of cluttered houses and shops with warmth, set against the backdrop scenery of the surrounding rugged mountains. Triangular flags flap in the light wind. We see the people walking to and fro as they go about their business, hear the chatter and music from the market districts and scattered shops, and smell the smokes and aromas from cooked foods with our sensors. We see and hear the children running and playing. There is innocent laughter in the wind that whips our long coats and skims across our glass face plates. Most of the children are still scared of the sight of us Stalkers. That is natural. We are physically imposing and strong. We were designed to be invincible soldiers and hunters. But Doctor Mars and the Governor will not let us harm anyone who does not deserve it. There will be a time when we will be able to play with the children. That will act as some…compensation…for the fact that I cannot, of course, conceive a child. Nor can Katherine. And, excepting the chance of being damaged beyond repair, we will exist for centuries to come – outliving all of the once-born around us. Tom will become a historian of sorts himself, as will Bevis, Katherine, and me. In time, we will come to serve as Remembering Machines.

I wonder, if he was still alive, what Shrike would think of me now. I suppose he would see a broken girl remade into a beautiful Iron Woman. Hester with a new, complete face and second eye again, after many years. I would be his companion for eternity, just as he wanted. His adopted daughter.

I don't know what Shrike would think of Tom, Katherine, and Bevis being my siblings as well. Bearers of emerald eyes identical to his own. Maybe he would tolerate us all. Maybe not.

Beyond the city, to the west, London stands still on its wheels within the broad valley. The Guild of Historians is still in the process of clearing out the London Museum and transferring the contents to our new city, though. My kindred and I have helped to carry the heavier items.

Apart from Doctor Mars using the lab to create Stalker-Twix, not many of the other former inhabitants of London bother to go back. Already, London is being broken down by the natives of Batmunkh Gompa for anything valuable, to be used for their city.

"IT IS GOOD," Tom speaks, inclining his head slightly at the city and its people. He turns to face me. "THIS IS HOME NOW."

"_YES," _I reply. "_HOME."_

"I STILL REMEMBER THE DEATHS OF PEWSEY AND GENCH…AND THE OTHERS. BUT I NO LONGER HATE MYSELF, NOW THAT I AM A STALKER. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE CANNOT BE CHANGED," Tom declared.

"_NO… JUST AS WE CANNOT BE CHANGED BACK,"_ I reasoned. _"WE BOTH ACCEPT OUR NEW LIVES NOW."_

"YES," Tom agreed.

As one, we both reach out a metal hand and hold each other gently. Then the glass of his face plate touches mine, as he dips his head. In our new forms, Tom is slightly taller than me. The glow of his emerald eyes meets my matching orbs.

A once-born passing by at that moment might see our interaction as a kiss of sorts, I suppose. It is about as much emotion as we can share, given our natures. To love and to be happy are sensations that are like ghosts to me and Tom now. Will-o-the-wisps that are just beyond our clawed grasps. We live a strange half-life, where we do not eat or drink – but are instead…fed…with electricity. But we remember enough. My sister Katherine and her companion Bevis are content with their lot. Tom and I are content, too. Justice has been served.

Batmunkh Gompa is our city, our home. My kindred and I are programmed to defend it against whatever the rest of the world dares to throw at us – and defend it we will.

Tom may not be a young man anymore – but I have enough emotion within me to perceive and know that he is an impressive Stalker, and that he is _mine_.

Gods willing, the four of us will be together for many years yet to come.

THE END!


End file.
